Portland Country Club organized in 1895 and consolidated on the Falmouth Foreside site with a new clubhouse in 1914. In 1921 the club retained Donald Ross to lay out a new 18-hole course on the coastal property; club heritage materials and the Maine Historical Society’s captioning place both the commission and opening in 1921, with Ross credited directly for the design. No Ross drawings are published on the club’s public pages, but the narrative of a single, complete 18-hole Ross build that year is consistent across the club’s own history and state archival summaries.
The course has since operated continuously as the club’s principal layout. In the late 2010s PCC pursued a historically oriented restoration under Ron Prichard. Trade and ranking outlets, along with practitioner accounts, date the main field work to 2017, describing tree removal to reopen original corridors and views, bunker refurbishment to period form, and expansion of green surfaces back toward Ross perimeters. A 2019 profile of Prichard notes field sketches from his Portland CC restoration, and subsequent commentary identifies Tyler Rae as assisting on the project; a 2025 feature on restoration budgets cites PCC’s program as a long-term, approximately $1M effort. These sources confirm the modern campaign’s existence and intent even though the club has not posted the restoration plan set publicly.
Unique Design Characteristics
The scorecard evidence shows Ross’s pacing still governs the round: two par-5s—6 (596 yards) outward and 16 (512) inward—bookend clusters of medium two-shotters in the 370–420 yard range, while four par-3s—4 (154), 7 (184), 14 (201), and 17 (201) from the Green tees—anchor the approach-shot demands across wind conditions off Casco Bay. The front nine carries more exposure and aspect to the water, with the 7th playing along the bay outlook, while the back nine tightens among trees before reemerging at 17, a long, exposed one-shotter that often plays a club longer.
As restored in 2017, the bunker scheme presents lower sand lines and more naturalized shapes than mid-century revisions, and the green expansions reintroduced corner hole locations—particularly noticeable on multi-tiered targets like 14 and 17, where back or edge pins now ask for flighted approaches rather than conservative center-green shots. Public sources characterize the restoration in exactly those terms—expanded greens, refurbished bunkers, and significant tree removal—to recover original playing width and views without altering the routing.
Which holes are the clearest surviving expressions of Ross’s original work today? Given that the routing was not changed in the 2017 project, the coastal one-shot pair (7 and 17), the sixth as a long three-shotter that sets up with a preferred angle off the tee, and the short-to-medium fours early on the back nine (10–13) remain the best windows into Ross’s 1921 intent. Those holes show the recurring Portland pattern visible on the card—open fronts with flanking trouble and angle-dependent approaches—and they are exactly the corridors that the restoration targeted for width recapture and green-edge recovery. While a hole-by-hole plan overlay is not public, the combination of yardage data and restoration reporting allows these attributions with appropriate caution.
Historical Significance
Within the architect’s northern New England work, Portland CC stands out as a coastal, single-campaign Ross 18 commissioned by an established club and opened in 1921, not a phased expansion across the 1920s. Club and state historical pages position it among Maine’s landmark early courses, and third-party directories repeatedly cite Ross’s authorship and the 1921 date. In competitive terms, the club has been a regular venue for top state events; notably, Maine Golf staged the 100th Maine Amateur at Portland CC in 2019, pairing the championship with the venue’s restored presentation. Earlier, the course hosted the New England Amateur in 1930, an edition singled out in contemporary press summaries as a turning point in the event’s stature. These records substantiate the course’s importance both in Maine’s tournament rotation and in New England amateur golf history.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and yardage. The present course plays par 70 / 6,466 yards (Green), with a 35-35 split, and the hole sequence matches the club’s card. There is no indication on public pages of any rerouting since the 2017 work; the restoration aimed to revive rather than replace Ross’s plan.
Greens, bunkers, and corridors. The 2017 Prichard program focused on expanding green surfaces, refurbishing bunkers, and removing trees to re-establish width and sightlines—interventions aligned with bringing Ross features back into everyday play. Independent write-ups and trade profiles corroborate those scopes; one notes the course “removing trees, expanding greens, and refurbishing bunkers,” while a 2019 professional profile reproduces field sketches from the Portland job. That said, the club has not published a restoration master plan or before-and-after green-pad survey on its public site, so a hole-by-hole inventory of original vs. rebuilt features cannot be offered here without accessing the project drawings or Ross’s 1921 plans.
Environmental and operations context. The club’s identification as a Certified Audubon Sanctuary supplies the environmental frame for tree work and habitat management, and the public scorecard remains the most reliable snapshot of present tees, yardages, and ratings/slopes.
Sources & Notes
Portland Country Club — “Heritage.” States that in 1921 the club “sought out Donald Ross to design the timeless 18-hole course members enjoy to this day.”
Maine Historical Society (Maine Memory Network) — “Portland Country Club pamphlet, 1915.” Item caption notes that the Donald Ross-designed course layout was completed in 1921.
Top100golfcourses — Portland Country Club. Notes 2017 restoration by Ron Prichard involving tree removal, green expansion, and bunker refurbishment, and highlights the waterside 7th and 17th par-3s.
Golf Course Architecture (Apr. 30, 2019) — “The father of restoration.” Profiles Ron Prichard and includes field sketches from the Portland CC restoration.
The Fried Egg (Feb. 14, 2025) — “What Does ‘Restoring’ a Golf Course Mean These Days?” Mentions Portland CC as a long-term Prichard/Rae restoration at just over $1M.
Portland Country Club — Mobile home page. Notes Certified Audubon Sanctuary status and describes front-nine bay views/back-nine woodland character.
Portland Press Herald (Jul. 1, 2019) — “Maine Amateur: It’s a young man’s game.” Confirms 100th Maine Amateur hosted by PCC in 2019.
Wikipedia — “New England Amateur.” History section notes the 1930 New England Amateur at Portland CC (Falmouth, ME) as a pivotal edition; used here as a pointer to contemporary newspaper coverage.